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The call to transform education must begin with the youngest children. The world is not on track in meeting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 4.2 committing countries to ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education by 2030. There is solid scientific evidence that early opportunities matter for child development outcomes. But inequalities start early and persist throughout life. Many children around the world, especially those living in low-income countries and facing disadvantage, do not have access and exposure to quality care and learning experiences early in life that prepare them for school success and foundational learning. Access to quality Early Childhood Care and Education matters for building a strong foundation and flourishing throughout life. This report is in response to a commitment in the Tashkent Declaration and Commitments to Action for Transforming Early Childhood Care and Education in which governments and the international community reaffirmed their commitment to the right to education, beginning with the youngest children. The report is the first in a biennial series dedicated to monitoring achievement of SDG Target 4.2. This edition explores how children learn and develop and how the key actors in children's early environments -- parents, families, educators and the community at large -- can be leveraged through public policies and social programmes to improve young children's learning and wellbeing. The right to education must begin with the right to a strong foundation.